Aviva plans to up pay-out ratio, says too soon to judge Brexit impact

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva (Other OTC: AIVAF - news) aims to increase its dividend pay-out ratio next year and said on Wednesday it was too soon to estimate the exact impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Ahead of a capital markets day, Aviva said in a statement it planned to up the ratio - the proportion of earnings per share paid out in dividends - to 50 percent in 2017.

The pay-out ratio was 42 percent in 2015.

Aviva's fund arm was one of three insurer fund arms to suspend its UK commercial property fund this week, in the first sign of markets seizing up since Britain's vote to exit the European Union sent asset prices into a tailspin.

"Although it is too early to quantify the precise impact of Brexit, we are confident we can continue to grow," chief executive Mark Wilson said in the statement.

The 1.8 billion pound ($2.33 billion) property fund represented only a small part of the firm's assets under management, an Aviva spokesman said.

Wilson (Oslo: WILS.OL - news) said earlier this year the firm could give cash back to shareholders, after it beat forecasts with a 20 percent rise in 2015 operating profit. ($1 = 0.7739 pounds) (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)